


Driving Too Late

by thatcrazywriterley



Series: The Too Late Tales [26]
Category: AEW, All Elite Wrestling, Being The Elite (Web Series), Young Bucks--Fandom
Genre: Coming of Age, Learning to Drive, Multi, Polyamorous relationship, Polyamory, Young Bucks, brothers share a wife, dad teaching daughter to drive, the too late tales, too late tales
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-26
Updated: 2020-06-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 18:38:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24920182
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatcrazywriterley/pseuds/thatcrazywriterley
Summary: Ahead of her sixteenth birthday, it's time for Matt and Nick to teach their eldest to drive.Inspired by @not-that-kinda-gurl08 on Tumblr.
Relationships: Matt Jackson/Reader, Matt Jackson/Reader/Nick Jackson, Nick Jackson/Reader
Series: The Too Late Tales [26]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1695274
Kudos: 2





	Driving Too Late

_(GIF owned by gabedonhoe on Tumblr)_

I stood with Nick and Matt in the driveway, shading my eyes with my hand. The bright Southern California sun beat down in its summer glory. A brilliant blue sky spread out in all directions. It was a perfect day. A calm day.

Weather wise, at least.

“Are you two sure you’re ready for this?” I asked. I stepped back to glance inside the house. Ty, now six, was napping on the sofa. RJ, at eight, and Lee at ten, were playing Mario Cart on the Switch. Nicole was in her room, going through those sullen bouts that most thirteen-year-olds experienced. And Mattie…

She was pacing a little way down the driveway, driving test pamphlet in her hands.

“It’ll be fine,” Matt said, waving his hand. “It’s not like we’re taking her on the freeway, Y/N.”

“She’s a good driver,” Nick replied, crossing his arms as he watched his eldest.

I looked down at my eldest—now sixteen and ready for a driver’s license. I couldn’t believe that she’d gotten so old so quick. It seemed like just yesterday she was begging Nick to toss her into the pool for Matt to catch.

“She might be, but I know how you two are. Why can’t just one of you go?” I looked between them, raising a brow.

“Trust us, Sunshine,” Nick said, tucking his arm around my neck and pulling me close. He kissed the top of my head and rested his cheek against my hair. “This is a big thing for us. It’s a Dad’s job to teach a kid how to drive.”

I glanced at Matt, meeting his dark gaze. “Are you sure you two won’t fight in the car? I know how you are with directions.”

My dark-haired husband grinned, and I could tell by the wistfulness in his eyes that he was remembering the same moments that fluttered through my mind. The two of them trying to put together a swing set in the backyard. Putting together a three-foot-tall princess castle for Christmas. Buying Mattie a hamster. So very many moments where the two of them, with the best of intentions, couldn’t communicate clear enough to get a job done. It was amazing—as well as they communicated in the ring, they’d had some serious miscommunications outside of it.

“We’ve prepared for this,” Matt assured me, glancing at his brother. “I promise, Mama. We’ll all three come back in one piece.”

Anxiety settled in my chest. “Please be careful. Please.”

I felt Nick’s lips on my hair again. Matt came close and pressed a kiss against my neck. “We promised you a long time ago,” Nick murmured, “that we’d always come back to you. And we are _never_ breaking that promise.”

“Come _on_ ,” Mattie huffed as she hustled up the driveway. She was practically bouncing on her toes. “Dad! Papa! Let’s _go_.”

Matt smiled indulgently. “We’re coming, Tea. Just a minute.”

“Go,” I said softly. Even as I worried, I gave them a gentle push toward her. I looked at my little girl, my daughter who wasn’t so little anymore. “Be careful. And stay calm, no matter what foolishness your dads get into!”

She grinned and snapped a salute. Nick tossed the keys to his old Nissan at her, and she snatched them out of the air with ease. That car was twenty some years old and had Lord knew how many miles on it. I was honestly surprised the thing ran as well as it did, but it made a good learner car. “Love you, Mom!”

“Love you too, Tea,” I called back as she slid into the driver’s seat. Nick sat up front. Matt slid into the back, scooting until he was right in the middle. I watched as they put their seatbelts on, as she adjusted the mirrors. She took a deep breath and squeezed the wheel for a moment before starting the car and easing slowly out of the garage.

My mother’s heart pounded out of my chest. I was consumed with pride at the person she was and a sadness for the little girl who was no more.

***

“Take a few laps around the tennis court first,” Nick said, pointing his eldest toward the open gate. He was surprised at how calm his heart was beating in his chest. He’d thought that there would be more anxiety, more fear at putting his daughter behind the wheel. “Papa and I took the net down this morning. Just don’t hit the basketball goals.

Mattie took it slow, both hands gripping the wheel, back rigid.

“Don’t ride the brake, Tea,” Matt said calmly. “Just ease off the gas.”

His daughter bit her lip, nodding. The car rolled smoothly down the inclined driveway. She hovered her foot over the brake as they neared the curve that lead toward the main road. Matt looked up the hill to the left. Nick did the same.

“I can’t see around the curve,” Mattie said, a tremor in her voice. Her fingers gripped the wheel tightly, knuckles going momentarily white.

“Ease on the brake,” Nick instructed, turning a little so he could face her. “Move up a little at a time until you can see.”

“But don’t go out so far that you’re in the road. You don’t want to get hit.” Matt watched his daughter in the rearview mirror, seeing the fear etched on her face.

She nodded and the car jostled to a stop. Nick bounced forward, his seatbelt snapping tight before he could go too far. Matt put out both hands and grabbed the back of each seat, stopping his forward motion.

“Shit,” Nick swore under his breath. His heart was suddenly pounding, and he was sure there would be a welt on the side of his neck later. “ _Ease_ on the brake, Mattie. Not slam, _ease_.”

“Sorry, Dad,” she replied sheepishly. For a moment, the fifteen-year-old thought she was going to cry.

Matt put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Tea.” He smiled and shook his head, surprised at what he was about to say. “What did Patrick tell Spongebob about driving?”

Nick snorted. Mattie grinned, turning to look at her Papa over her shoulder. “Big toe.”

“Big toe,” Matt replied. “Now eyes on the road. Let’s go.”

After a deep breath, the car moved forward again. Her next stop was a little smoother. When she reached the place where she could see around the curve, she looked left then right then left once more. She pulled out into the drive they shared with the other houses on the hill, slipping smoothly down until she reached the turn toward the tennis courts.

Blinker on, she took the turn and pressed the accelerator. They’d opened the gate to the tennis courts that morning when they’d taken down the tennis nets, so she had an easy time negotiating past the posts and up onto the concrete.

“Alright,” Matt said, “let’s see that three-point turn.”

***

I couldn’t hide how nervous I was. Nicole came out of her room to get a bowl of chips and saw me sitting at the table, staring out the window. She sank down on the bench next to me and put her head on my shoulder.

“Tea’s with Dad and Papa. She’ll be okay, Mom.”

A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it. Soon it was followed by more, streaming down my face until I could hardly breathe. “It’s not that, Bug,” I hiccoughed.

“Don’t call me…” She stopped when she realized I was crying. “Mom?”

I tried to catch my breath. My hand pressed against my chest, as if that pressure would ease the aching in my heart.

“Mommy? Are you okay?”

I reached for my youngest daughter then, drawing her against my chest and hugging her tightly. She hadn’t called me _mommy_ since she was nine. It made me ache for the days when she was little, when she would follow me around the house each day, when she loved nothing more than sitting on her Uncle Kenny’s knee watching a bank of camera monitors backstage at an AEW show.

“I’m okay, baby,” I said soothingly. My fingers brushed through her light brown hair as I pressed a kiss to her forehead. She had Nick’s hairline, the poor child. “It’s just… Mattie’s driving. You’re getting ready to start high school. You’re all growing up too fast for me to keep up.”

Before she could respond, I heard the sound of the garage door rumbling down. It was quickly followed by the sound of three doors slamming shut. The front door opened, and Mattie came in with Nick and Matt hot on her heels.

I wiped hastily at my eyes and took a deep breath. “How’d it go?”

Mattie flopped down on the bench across the table and put her head in her hands. “I scratched Dad’s car.”

Nick dropped a kiss on the top of my head as he walked by, headed into the kitchen. Matt sat down at the head of the table. “You can barely see it, Tea. It was the edge of the bumper. Besides, that’s why we let you drive the Nissan. It’s seen better days, so some more bumps and bruises aren’t going to hurt it.”

“I hit a pole, Papa,” Mattie said deadpan.

My eyes went wide and my mouth opened, but before I could respond, Matt reached out and put his hand on top of mine. “You grazed one of the net anchors. You didn’t hit a pole.”

Nick reappeared, setting a glass of soda in front of our daughter. “You did really well today, Mattie. I couldn’t parallel park until I was twenty-five.”

I laughed. “I _still_ can’t. And I’m… well, it doesn’t matter… I just can’t. Why do you think Papa bought me a minivan that can parallel park itself?”

Mattie laughed and her blue eyes brightened. “I did okay?” she queried hopefully, looking between Matt and Nick. When they both nodded, she grinned.

“How did they do?” I asked, jerking my thumbs at my husbands.

“Really good! Dad said _shit_ when I hit the brake too hard, and Papa almost said the _f word_ when I got too close to the wall.” Our daughter looked between her fathers and smiled. “They were amazing, Mom. Best dads ever.”

Matt sniffed. Nick titled his head back, scratching at his neck. “Oh no,” I exclaimed. “You two can’t cry. I’ve already been crying. That’s my job.”


End file.
